Herrier J.-L., J. Mees, A. Salman, J. Seys, H. Van Nieuwenhuyse and I. Dobbelaere (Eds). 2005. p. 69-76
Proceedings ‘Dunes and Estuaries 2005’ – International Conference on Nature Restoration
Practices in European Coastal Habitats, Koksijde, Belgium, 19-23 September 2005
VLIZ Special Publication 19, xiv + 685 pp.
The French policy experience of purchasing coastal
areas
Etienne Dubaille
Conservatoire du Littoral, Délégation Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Le Riverside, Quai Giard, F-62930 Wimereux, France
E-mail: grandnord@conservatoire-du-littoral.fr
Abstract
Created in 1975 by the French Government, the Conservatoire du Littoral is responsible for:
the acquisition and the protection in perpetuity of the most sensitive and endangered coastal
land:
- along the coast of metropolitan France and overseas territories
- around lakes larger than 1,000ha
the management by local government of the lands acquired in order to open them to public
access and to ensure the protection of natural values.
Over the years, the Conservatoire has defined three main criterias for selecting land for
acquisition:
the site is threatened by urbanisation, being divided up or being made artificial (for example, the
infilling of wetlands);
the site is deteriorated and needs rapid restoration;
the site is closed to the public whereas it should be open to everyone.
Since 1975 the Conservatoire du littoral owned 70,500ha in France (3,200ha in Nord-Pas-deCalais), protected more than 860km of coast (37km in Nord-Pas-de-Calais), i.e. 10% of the
metropolitan coast (25% in Nord-Pas-de-Calais). With the application of a new legal act
(27/02/02) the Conservatoire du Littoral became one of the French government tools for ICZM
with new competences on maritime properties.
Keywords: Coastal protection; Land acquisition; French public body; ICZM.
Introduction
The coastline and the shores of our main lakes undoubtedly make up some of the most
beautiful, rich and varied parts of France. The coastline is also one of the most densely
populated areas and as a consequence is fragile and endangered (Tables I and II).
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E. Dubaille
Table I. Populated areas density (1999)
Coastal communes (overseas)
in France
in Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Coastal cantons (districts)
Coastal departments
France
277 hab.km-2
657 hab.km-2
186 hab.km-2
129 hab.km-2
108 hab.km-2
Table II. Population increase (1990-1999)
Coastal communes (overseas)
Coastal cantons (districts)
France
+ 5.7%
+ 7.0%
+ 3.6%
For this reason, the public authorities have been taking the necessary measures to protect
and organize these areas. Numerous surveys have been carried out, legislation reinforced
and procedures made more explicit. In 1975, the French parliament decided to enlarge
these measures by creating a public organization: the ‘Conservatoire de l’Espace littoral
et des Rivages lacustres’.
In charge of purchasing natural sites, which are endangered (degradation and sites which
may disappear in the long term), the Conservatoire is a public government agency. It has
the responsibility of developing appropriate land-use policies for the protection of
threatened natural areas. Its mission and types of intervention are defined in the
Environment Code (articles L.322, art. R. 243). Its activities cover 22 regions, 46
departments and 1,140 coastal and lacustrine local authorities.
Competence areas
Metropolitan France and French overseas departments
5,200,000ha of land
10,000km of coastline (8,000km and 1,200km of coastal dunes on the metropolitan
area)
At the end of 2003, the Conservatoire owned 70,500ha of endangered or fragile natural
beauty spots covering over 300 localities. In 2004, more than 8,000ha of coastal dunes
are protected by the Conservatoire du Littoral. In this way, it guarantees the protection of
775km of coastline and inland lake shores made up of dune, marshland, mudflats,
islands, woods, moors and heathland.
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The French dune purchasing policy experience
Breakdown of protected linear coastline
Rocky coast
Sand coast
Humid zones
Other
Fig. 1. Breakdown of the protected linear coastline.
Nature of protected habitats
Cultures
Woods
Maquis heathland scrubs
Dunes
Humid zones
Pastures
Fig. 2. Nature protected habitats.
The one objective is to ‘conduct a land acquisition policy to safeguard coastal zones,
respect natural sites and maintain their ecological equilibrium’.
In this geographical area, the Conservatoire’s mission is twofold, quantitative and
qualitative. Its main priority is to acquire endangered natural sites; but it is also the
safeguard for the quality of these areas as well as their ecological equilibrium. For this
reason the Conservatoire can make recommendations concerning its mission to the
relevant authorities.
Another important public agency for dunes management is the Office national des
Forêts. It is a public national organization under the supervision of the government
(Ministries of Agriculture and Environment). It manages large coastal and wooded (pine
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E. Dubaille
forest) dunes on the Atlantic seacoast, especially in Aquitaine (SW France). Some parts
of them are dedicated to biodiversity as biological reserves.
A selective and reasoned intervention
Within its zone of competence, the Conservatoire does not decide alone which areas
should be left in their natural state. It should take into account (article R.243-2) the
regulations existing as well as the Development and Urbanization Masterplans (SCOT)
and Local Plans (PLU). It is up to the authorities responsible for town planning to
determine which zones should be assigned to urbanization or development; the
Conservatoire does not normally buy these areas, but can argue that an area should be
classified as a natural zone. These considerations and the concern to use its budget as
efficiently as possible, have driven the Conservatoire to define more precise selection
criteria, using past experience and the general framework of the legal texts, for those
situations where a policy of acquisition to reinforce the statutory intervention of the
government and communes is justified.
Legal framework in France to protect dunes
Forestal code
(L431-2) Special governmental authorization for sandy vegetation extraction and
wooded destruction
(L431-1) Forestry ministry can enforce dune fixations
(L432-1) in the Department of Pas-de-Calais:
land extraction is forbidden in dunes from the coast up to a distance of 200m inland
prohibition of destruction and extraction of sandy vegetation on dunes except for the
landers after special authorisation.
Urbanism codes
(L146-6) On the coastline, the urbanisation is forbidden in the special scientific interest
areas like salt marshes, dunes, estuaries,…
Environment code
(L341 and so on) Areas of outstanding beauty can be protected by the law (1930’ legal
Act): all new constructions are forbidden and each management is authorized by the
environment administration.
Broad possibilities of intervention
The parliament has given the Conservatoire a whole panoply of means to acquire
ownership of the land it wishes to protect, whether it concerns donations and legacies,
negociated acquisitions, the right of pre-emption (substituting pre-emption by the
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The French dune purchasing policy experience
department) or expropriation. A public body prefers to negotiate amicably and only
rarely resorts to legal proceedings.
With the application of a new legal Act (27/02/2002) the government can assign
maritime properties to the Conservatoire (marshes, meadows in estuary, intertidal
zonation, beach along coastline,…).
Land acquired by the Conservatoire receives a specific status – it becomes ‘public
property of the Conservatoire’, the lands become inalienable. The Conservatoire’s public
property can only be transferred by decree issued by the ‘High Court’ (Conseil d’Etat),
following a recommendation by a majority of ¾ of the board of directors.
An active partner for the local authorities
The Conservatoire’s action is part of the government’s involvement in the effort
undertaken by the local communities and Departments to preserve natural sites. The
Conservatoire is compelled by parliament to closely involve the local authorities in the
preparation of its acquisition program.
The organization of the Conservatoire is based on the essential role played by the
Conseils de Rivage (Coastal and Lakeside Councils). These councils are composed of
county and regional members of the local parliament. They discuss the acquisition
proposals to be submitted to the Conservatoire’s board of directors – with an equal
representation of politicians and administration – which decides on the acquisition
program. These councils are also consulted for each contract or partnership between the
Conservatoire and local, county or regional authorities.
The Conservatoire consults the communes prior to any acquisition. It also coordinates its
work with the departments, which buy land with the departmental tax for
environmentally sensitive areas (TDENS). The departments set up the pre-emption zones
which become the framework for the Conservatoire’s interventions.
With the decentralization of government, the Conservatoire is a particularly active
partner of the local authorities. Its role is to collaborate with local elected people in order
to develop a concerted policy of the sharing of acquisitions, financial participation and
the management of the acquired sites. This overall strategy also takes into account
European cooperation concerning the protection of coastal and lakeside zones.
Many properties of the Conservatoire du Littoral in France participate in the application
of the Habitats Directive and Birds Directive (in Nord-Pas-de-Calais 95% of the
properties are incorporated in the Natura 2000 Network).
Management agreements
The Conservatoire does not manage the land that it owns. It signs management
agreements with the local authorities whenever they are willing, either with the relevant
NGOs, or with farmers. Experience has shown that the size of the sites and the expense
usually lead to a partnership between the commune and the Departement as far as the
management of these zones is concerned.
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E. Dubaille
No matter which authority is given to the management of the Conservatoire’s properties,
the latter retains the right to participate in the definition and the implementation of the
choice of management development. Depending on the state of the natural environment,
the intervention is more or less significant, and ranges from simple conservation to
restoration. To justify an intervention, the Conservatoire makes every effort to establish
an ecological evaluation and a management plan for each site.
The conditions of public visiting of the site, the limits of which are fixed by the
ecological evaluation, are based on two principles: prohibition of all motorized traffic
and camping, and the control of the numbers of people. With this in mind, the
Conservatoire develops new methods of conservation, environmental restoration,
landscape planning and visitors facilities.
As for the existing buildings situated on the Conservatoire’s property, they are – as a rule
decided by the board of directors – destroyed when they are of no real use in relation to
the objectives set out and if they represent no real architectural interest.
With respect to financial investments in the sites, the Conservatoire has adopted the
principle that the owner is responsible for all investments essential to the protection of
the natural environment, i.e. all interventions having an effect on the very nature and
state of the land; however, in return, the yearly management expenses such as
maintenance of infrastructure or the supervision of the area will be financed by the
manager. The Conservatoire also offers technical assistance to the local authorities, a.o.
in the training of the wardens.
The job of these wardens is to maintain, clean and ensure the protection of the sites.
They also play an educational role and provide information to the visitors.
Private donations and legacies
Every year, hundreds of donors send money to the Conservatoire du Littoral which
assigns it to acquisitions. On several occasions, it has fund-raising campaigns to finance
the acquisition and conservation of certain areas of outstanding natural beauty.
This was the case in 1991 with the purchase of the Pointe du Raz. In 1992, a similar
operation was launched in order to safeguard Cap Gris Nez, in the department of Pas-deCalais.
In addition since October 96 it benefits from donations acquired by inheritance or capital
taxes.
Development of sponsorship
More and more companies wish to contribute to environmental protection. Procter &
Gamble France created a business foundation in June 1992 for the protection of the
coastline whose sole aim is to promote the work of the Conservatoire: survey, research
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The French dune purchasing policy experience
on the natural environment, information campaigns, rehabilitation operations,
publications. As part of this program, it financed the publishing of ‘l’Atlas des Espaces
naturels du Littoral’ (Atlas of Natural Coastal Zones), produced by the Conservatoire
and some general studies:
Climate change and land strategy
Public access, tourist pressure and management plans
Forestall fire in the Mediterranean area
Promoting a dynamic idea of coastal protection
The Conservatoire bases its interventions on strong convictions:
Only natural zones maintain a certain diversity of animal and plant communities and
landscapes, which areas used for the very specific needs of human activity no longer
have. The verb ‘to protect’ must not be taken as a synonym for ‘freezing’ or ‘blocking
progress’.
A large part of the economic production, on land or at sea, is linked to the existence of
rich and varied natural surroundings, therefore the prospects for development depend
on the quality of the surroundings and environment. Nature has been a constant source
of inspiration for man’s development, they are complementary, not rivals.
In some rare cases, however, where an unavoidable incompatibility between protection
and development becomes obvious – which would have an important negative impact on
the natural heritage – it is the conservation imperative which prevails.
The deterioration of the landscape and natural surroundings should not be considered
irreversible. What has been degraded can be repaired, even if this task is difficult, long,
always expensive and often incomplete.
With the help of the local authorities concerned, and thanks to public donations or
company sponsorship, the Conservatoire has undertaken this policy of reconstruction
and restoration of prestigious sites such as the Pointe du Raz or the Pinède de
Palombaggia and tomorrow Cap Gris Nez and Cap Blanc Nez in Nord-Pas-de-Calais and
Bay of Somme in Picardy which had been seriously spoiled by unsightly buildings and
uncontrolled visiting. This action is significant. It is part of the development of a new
type of tourism, which pays more attention to environmental quality. More than 20
million visitors come to the Conservatoire’s sites each year.
Co-ordinating the interventions of the various partners
The protection of the remaining natural beauty spots requires an overall policy
conducted at all levels, European, national, regional, departmental and communal,
accepted by all social categories, politicians, technicians, NGOs, citizens, and provided
with all the necessary legal, technical and financial means: town and country planning,
regulation, classification of sites, control of conveyance and acquisitions. The
Conservatoire’s work, as it is decisive, must be exemplary for all the other partners
involved in conservation.
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E. Dubaille
The necessity of creating a national heritage of natural zones protected definitively and
open to all, must lead local authorities and all individuals to take more care of protecting
their natural areas. In this way, nature conservation should gradually be prescribed
throughout the whole country. The conservation of nature cannot be limited because it is
its diversity that we must protect.
References
Legal acts: 10/07/75, 27/02/02, 23/02/05
- Conservatoire du Littoral’ 2003 Activities reports – Conservatoire du Littoral 2004
- ‘Construire ensemble un développement équilibré du Littoral’ – DATAR, la
Documentation française 2004.
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